World Cup Last-16 Preview with WhoScored.com Games Tournament Survivor
Fake fans, shock results and Cristiano Ronaldo trying to steal goals from teammates - the 2022 World Cup group stage really had it all!
Brazil looked dangerous despite the absence of Neymar, France didn’t let a first group stage defeat since 2010 stop them from topping Group D and England are riding a wave after scoring nine - yes, Southgate’s Three Lions really scored 9!
We now roll into the knockouts and the best way to follow along AND win cash prizes is with our £10,000+ Knockout Survivor game.
You get TWO lives to predict every result. Reach the quarter-finals to share £5,000+ before the longest survivor walks away with the other £5,000+!
Entries close at 2:45pm on Saturday, 3 December so you’ll need to be quick.
Before that, let's take a look back at what has happened so far and get our crystal ball out to predict the future!
Group Stage Review
Shocks
This tournament has had more shocks than an electric fence - there’s been an upset seemingly every day!
Speaking of shockers, how awful were Qatar?! We thought they’d been preparing for this for 10+ years! Anyway, don’t let us get sidetracked, here are some of the most memorable results…
Lionel Messi bagged an early penalty and Lautaro Martinez had about 56,354 goals ruled out for offside as pre-tournament fancies Argentina started on fire.
Fast forward an hour later and they were 2-1 down after five minutes of madness and Saudi were celebrating their most famous win with a national holiday announced… still couldn’t get out of the group though!
Another big nation that took a first-half lead before blowing it… the Samurais put Germany to the sword as Takuma Asano grabbed a late winner.
Just like Saudi Arabia, they couldn’t follow their massive win up and lost to Costa Rica straight after… who had just been hammered 7-0 by Spain. The World Cup, eh?!
Belgium hadn’t lost a group stage game since 1994 coming into this one, but having just squeezed past Canada, alarm bells were ringing.
Funnily enough, it feels like this Red Devils outfit hadn’t changed personnel since about 1994 and they couldn’t deal with the enigmatic magic of Chelsea’s Hakim Ziyech.
Stunning performances
Every tournament, there are a couple of performances that take your breath away. Here are some from the group stage…
Are Spain really good? Are Costa Rica really bad? Maybe a bit of both?
Luis Enrique’s men completed a mammoth 976 passes, had 17 shots on goal and even Alvaro Morata managed to net from the bench.
Any pre-tournament nerves were quickly replaced with chants of ‘it’s coming home’ as England scored three in the first half.
Another three followed after the break with five different goalscorers and the Three Lions ended with 78% possession… what a start!
Player of the Group
Yes, Marcus Rashford has scored three, but can we really give ‘Player of the Group Stage’ to someone who was on the pitch for 109 minutes and made one start?
His Manchester United teammate Fernandes scored two crucial goals (yes, Ronaldo, it was Bruno’s goal!) as they sealed progression against Uruguay and he also picked up two assists in their opener agains Ghana.
If Portugal go far, you can almost guarantee that Bruno will be responsible.
Knockout Preview
Crystal ball time… here are our predictions
Favourites
Brazil came into this tournament as almost everyone’s favourites to win the whole thing and nothing that we’ve seen so far has swayed us from that belief.
With Neymar getting back to full fitness, Thiago Silva and Marquinhos providing brick wall resistance at the back and Casemiro controlling the tempo, we fancy them to see off the likes of Spain and Argentina on their way to the final.
Underdogs
Is it soccer or football? Whatever your preference, it turns out that the USA are pretty good.
They only conceded one group stage goal - a Gareth Bale penalty - shutting out England on their way to a Round of 16 clash against Netherlands, who were far from convincing in what was the easiest group by far.
Strugglers
Poland will rightly be excited by making it out of their group for the first time since 1986, but don’t expect that feeling to last too long against France.
Led by Robert Lewandowski, they’ve been drab in attack. They didn’t register a single shot on target against Argentina and failed to score against Mexico - we’re not sure how they will hurt Les Bleus.
Ready to make your picks?
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